Follow the crazy adventures of an Alabama cyclist taking on the Race Across America (again) in 2017.

Mississippi Gran Prix Day 1

Quick Summary
My teammate Pat Allison (check out his video from the Friday night crit) took 2nd with a super long sprint only getting caught at the line by Mat Davis (Team L’asport) who took the win. I came in a few spots behind for 6th, and my other teammate in the race (Justin Bynum) finished a strong 10th. Along the way I snagged three primes and Pat got a fourth prime. Great team race!

The Details
This criterium is probably my favorite event of the whole weekend of racing. It’s always fun to race a downtown criterium, and this one has an active train track that borders the course. Two trains went through at pretty high speed during warm-up, and one train came through after the race. Also, the only race of the evening is our Category 1/2/3 race so once the course is blocked off at about 6PM, you can warm up on the course for close to an hour. Plus, the race finishes in the dark so that takes an already fast course and makes it feel even faster.

On the first prime lap, I attacked hard out of the third corner of the six corner course and held it all the way to the line to take the $50 prime. This effort took a lot out of me, so I slid way back in the field before starting to move up again. Later in the race, I had moved into position towards the front again when they rang the bell for another prime. I attacked hard in the same spot as the first prime and held it again to the line. After this prime, we had a good break with Mat Davis and one or two other riders. After about 1/2 lap, Jake Brewer (Herring Gas) bridged up to us and we started rolling. But there was still too much firepower left in the field and we were brought back after a few laps.

Pat covered the next few moves and ended up taking a $50 prime and just missing out on another one. I worked to maintain position near the front as we got closer to the finish. With four laps to go, the organizers rang the bell for another prime and I was in good position coming out of turn 2 so I hit it hard and was able to hold it all the way to the line. I slid way back after this, but was able to work my way back up to near the front on the last lap when I saw Pat take a flyer coming out of turn 2. This strung out everything in front and gaps were opening up as panic set in. Mat Davis was chasing Pat and Woody Boudreaux (Herring Gas) was chasing Mat. Mat ended up catching Pat right before the line. Pat held on for 2nd, and Woody came in third. I came into the fourth turn passing people but got chopped and lost quite a bit of momentum. I was able to hit it hard again though and pass a few more people to take 6th. Justin rode a smart race and finished a few spots behind for 10th.